For a thirteen-year period, the reclusive Scottish writer Fiona Macleod enthralled the Victorian reading public with a deluge of stories, novels, poems and essays drawn from the wildly romantic Highland and Island landscape. Although it was later revealed that these works had issued from the pen of William Sharp, it was clear that Fiona Macleod was more than a pseudonym; to Sharp she was very much an autonomous entity. What’s more, the wealth of previously unknown and unheard of myths, names, traditions and beliefs in her writings, while shone through a Celtic prism, show every sign of having emanated from the Realm of Faery.
Steve Blamires presents a ground-breaking assessment of the Faery lore within Fiona Macleod’s literary output as part of his ongoing study of this enigmatic writer. Building on the established groundwork of his biography of Sharp, The Little Book of the Great Enchantment, he explores the mythology and traditions of Faery, their symbolic and magical significance, and the devices employed by Fiona in the transmission of Faery teachings and inspirations. Using examples from Fiona’s rich and resonant body of work, his detailed interpretation will enable the reader to tease out the Faery gems that are still to be found woven into the lines and verse of her writings.
Born in Ayr, Scotland, Steve Blamires is an authority on the writings of Fiona Macleod and William Sharp, and has written several books on Celtic and Faery magical lore. He founded the Celtic Research and Folklore Society in Scotland and was editor of its Seanchas journal. After moving to the Hudson Valley area in New York State he continued to advance the cause of Celtic peoples and their culture, and has led many tours to sacred sites in Europe and served as both presenter and tour-guide on National Geographic expedition ships. After studying some twelve years with Gareth Knight, Blamires has also become a distinguished writer and teacher in the Western Mystery Traditions, continuing the work of Dion Fortune, Bligh Bond and other ‘Avalonians.’
- ISBN: 978-1-908011-59-6
- 200 pages
- cover photo of Isle of Lewis by Rebsie Fairholm
- perfect-bound paperback: 229mm x 152mm
- black and white text
- published 31st October 2012